Verso
by Komillia
Summary: The war between the Resistance and the Death Eaters rages on and leaves death and grief in its wake. In the midst of all this stands Harry Potter, a scarred soul reluctant to follow his destiny. [HarryLuna]
1. Ignited

**Verso  
Chapter 1: Ignited**

_Notes: Wow, this must be the most overdue fanfic ever? I've had the ideas for Verso almost as long as I've worked on Redivivus. It's been a while since I finished Redivivus but I hope some of you are still around to read this. Mostly, I hope you'll enjoy it because that would make up for all the loss of notes and drafts I've suffered from since starting to write this chapter in October, not to mention the pain in my back after the 6 hours I spent trying to finish the chapter. )_

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* * *

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"STUPEFY!"

A rock blew up into millions of pieces as the curse hit it, the force of the explosion sending a large piece of rock zooming towards the young man's head. It struck him directly, tearing through the skin of his forehead and mixing blood with sweat and hair. The young man reached up to touch his wound lightly, wincing as his fingers made contact with flesh.

"Protego! Protego!" he shouted with all the strength he could muster, using his other hand to wave his wand around as he cast the spells while trying to run at the same time. "Protego!"

Flashes of light appeared from every corner, beams of different colours flying by or being repelled by the protective spells he had cast. He ducked, threw himself to the ground and hid behind any objects he could find to avoid being struck. The harsh pain he felt in his feet each time he took another step reminded him of how torn and old his shoes were after many months of running. Yet he did not stop for a second and his feet seemed to move on their own. The only thing that was on his mind was his destination and that he had to get there.

He had to find her, he had to.

Without her, everything was over.

He jumped over a fence swiftly, running over wet grass instead of hard rock. The footsteps of his pursuers were becoming slightly quieter and they were shouting questions to each other. He had gained a bit of distance between them but it became increasingly difficult for him to make out their exact positions. Nevertheless, the further away he was the better. The shed came within sight as he ran and filled him with new hope.

_Almost there, just a little more..._

"Petrificus Tota...!"

"Stupefy!" the young man yelled automatically and pointed his wand into the direction of where the other voice came from.

A loud thud sounded a few yards away and the young man looked closer to see that one of his pursuers was lying awkwardly on the road. There was no sign of any movement. Hoping that he had not alerted anyone else, the young man turned his attention back to the shed. Covering the last few feet, he felt and pulled at the handle. It was locked, of course.

"Alohomora!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the lock. Seconds passed without anything happening, not even the tiniest glow was emitted. He cursed to himself, God forbid that anything would be easy these days.

"Bombarda!"

The small door literally blew up in pieces, sending dust and debris all over the place. He shielded his eyes with his arm and once the dust had lain down and he could see into the shed clearly he felt relief for the first time in weeks. A young woman was standing there, not huddled in a corner or pressed against the wall, but standing tall and straight. Her blue robes were smudged with dirt and tattered and her hair seemed almost wild but her eyes were nothing but calm and serene. It was as if she had not been frightened at all at the door suddenly exploding.

"Ron," she said calmly.

He reached out his hand.

"There's no time, we have to go now!"

* * *

The outskirts of the Forbidden Forest were intimidating least to say. One merely had to take a look and see how light could barely shine through the trees' thick crowns of leaves. But during night time it seemed heavier to breathe for some reason, there was no light save from the quiet glow of the moon and a light mist had surrounded the forest that night.

It was there that Ron and Luna stopped, breaths ragged after running non-stop for an uncountable time.

"I think we outran them," Ron panted.

He looked over his shoulder to reassure himself of the fact that they were safe. Once he established that, he allowed himself the simple luxury of leaning against a tree. A light dizziness came over him, whether it was out of tiredness or the wound on his head he did not know.

"Hermione and the others should be here any moment," he went on. "They went on to create a diversion so that I could get you."

Luna nodded.

"Thank you," she said suddenly, causing Ron to look at her curiously.

For some reason, he found her timing to thank him to be both good and bad. A part of him wanted to be optimistic and believe that everything was okay now that she had been rescued.

But then again, there was a reason why he could not afford to be optimistic.

The moment he heard the distant sound of footsteps he grabbed Luna's hand without hesitation and dragged her into the forest. The two of them ran as fast as they could through the forest. It was Ron who was leading them, but he was running without direction with only the thought of getting away as soon as possible. His vision blurred slightly, but he shook his head, blinked and tried to force it away.

They couldn't get caught, not now…

Before he knew it his foot got caught between two roots and his world turned upside down as he fell over. His head hit something hard that scraped his wound and this time he could not hold back a string of heavy cursing.

"Ron! Luna! Over here!"

He swore he heard Hermione's voice coming from somewhere but considering how many times he had been hit in the head he was fully prepared to think that he was hallucinating.

His vision blurred again but he saw Luna looking over him, then grabbing him by his arms and pulling him somewhere. There was too little strength left in him to question what she was doing and for a while things turned completely black. It felt like it was the time span of a blink of an eye but once his vision returned to normal he was surrounded by tall and thick bushes. The one who was looking over him was no longer Luna, but Hermione.

"Why are you here…?" he muttered, wincing as he sat up.

"Ron, you're hurt!" Hermione exclaimed, bringing her hand to Ron's face to wipe something wet away.

It was only when Ron looked at her fingers that he realized that it was his blood.

"We were supposed to meet up outside the forest," he went on and supported himself on his elbows in order to stay up.

"They followed us there as we were escaping," Hermione explained quickly, tying a piece of cloth tightly around Ron's head. "We ran into the forest and manage to lose them by hiding here. Parvati has been keeping watch."

Ron looked up and saw Parvati crouched down by the bushes. The latter sensed that she was being watched and faced Ron as she looked over her shoulder.

"You alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Ron answered and tried to push himself up on his feet. "Let's get to the portkey, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"There is no portkey," Luna said so suddenly, startling Ron. She was sitting on a small rock behind him and had made no attempt to make herself noticeable until now.

"They saw Neville going for the portkey and destroyed it," Hermione filled in. "That's why…"

She looked to her left and Ron followed her gaze. Dread seemed to fill his entire body and suddenly it became difficult to breathe. Lying on the ground was Neville, whose arm was bleeding intensely despite Hermione's attempts to wrap what used to be her cloak around his wounds. His eyes were closed but much to Ron's relief he felt a pulse when he bent down and put his fingers to Neville's throat.

"We have to get out of here now or they'll find us," Ron decided. He slipped his arms under Neville's back and knees and lifted him up.

"Ron, the portkey has been destroyed!" Hermione reminded and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Then we'll apparate!"

"We can't! The Forbidden Forest is partly on Hogwarts grounds, we can't apparate here! That was the whole point of having a portkey!"

"Then we'll leave the forest and apparate from there!" Ron argued back.

"But the Death Eaters are waiting for us there!"

"Quiet!" Parvati said in a hushed voice and stepped between Ron and Hermione. "You're going to get us all killed by standing here and bickering!"

Both Ron and Hermione quieted down, neither of them speaking for a while. Parvati crossed her arms and looked at Luna who had watched the whole ordeal without much of a reaction.

"There's another way," Hermione spoke after a while. "The Death Eaters will be waiting for us on this side of the forest. The only way we can do it is to make it to Hogsmeade and then apparate through there."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Ron asked.

At first he waited for an answer, but then he saw the look on Hermione's face and somehow instantly knew what she was thinking.

"You're out of your mind!"

"It's the only way!"

"Only way of getting killed! Even the Death Eaters are afraid of him nowadays, what makes you think that we can…"

"If you would just…"

"Don't worry."

Ron and Hermione both fell silent and looked at Luna. She slowly stood up and for the first time took action by starting to walk out of their hiding place. As she reached the bushes, she stopped to part them to make way.

"He won't hurt us."

* * *

Another owl.

They would fly into his office, take an elegant turn around the room and then drop their letters on his desk. Occasionally one would take another turn or two around his office but most of them just stayed on the edge of his desk and stared at him with those round eyes. He knew that they were watching him even though he pretended not to notice, always waiting for him to sit down and write an answer. But he never did and most of the time he did not even bother to open and read the letter. Of course, that was the beginning of how the owls started to show their displeasure by pecking on his hand.

His simple solution to that was to simply leave all windows closed from that moment.

But the owls did not stop. They found other open windows to fly through, other people to peck and bother until those people in turn dropped the letters on his desk.

In his heart he wanted to blast those birds into oblivion, but even he had not sunk so low to torture animals.

"Sir…?"

"Just leave them there," Harry said, recognizing the voice of his butler and waved towards the desk.

Bosworth looked at Harry hesitantly, and then carefully put a stack of unopened letters on the little space that was unoccupied on the desk. The stack was just one of several piled up on the desk, along with rolls of newspapers dating back to six months ago. None of these had ever been read.

When the owls had first arrived, Harry had read every single letter. He had read the thoroughly, feeling pain and confusion upon each word. They came from Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Lucius, Narcissa and even Draco had written to him on a few occasions, demanding answers just like everyone else.

_Harry, where is the Dark Lord? He has not been seen for days!_

_Harry, the situation is urgent. We must find the Dark Lord!_

_Harry, how dare you refuse my entrance to Hogwarts!_

_Harry, why you ordered Hogwarts to be locked down? Why will you not answer my letters?_

_Harry, I demand you stop this stupid isolation!_

But the owl he truly waited for never came. So, after a while he stopped caring, stopped caring about anything. What had happened had made him question everything he knew and in return he was left alone without any answers to the new questions that haunted his mind. Six months had passed now and all he wanted was to be alone, to forget and not to be bothered by anyone.

"There is another matter, sir."

"What is it?" Harry asked dully.

"The scouts have reported that there are people approaching the grounds from the Forbidden Forest."

"Lock all the gates, put up the wards and drive them out," Harry answered automatically. "You know what to do."

Bosworth brought his hands together and looked nervously at Harry, clearly not aware of what he was supposed to do.

"It's the Resistance, sir," he told. "A small group and they're being followed by Death Eaters."

"What difference does it make," Harry muttered as he turned around and walked past the butler. "Resistance or Death Eaters, if they want to slaughter each other they will have to do it somewhere else. I do not want any of them to take a single step onto Hogwarts."

Running his hand through his unruly hair, he headed towards the door and was about the leave the office when he heard his butler speak again.

"But sir… one of them is miss Lovegood!"

He stopped.

_The wind caught a hold of her hair and robe, making her stand out in the dark looking like a cloud of blonde and blue. Lying next to her was an old but sturdy broomstick, no doubt that was how she had gotten all the way up there. But there she sat high above the ground and looking like she did not possess a single worrying thought about falling off. Her lips were moving and now that Harry was outside he could hear her singing and half humming a slow song in a language he could not recognize._

_…she couldn't make it. Her dog ran away and she sprained her ankle when she tried to find him. I'm Luna Lovegood._

_…have a little faith in me, Harry._

"Sir?"

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw that Bosworth was still standing there, waiting for an order. His nails dug into the palm of his hand and his heart started to beat faster. After a while, he turned away his face so that Bosworth couldn't see him.

"I've given you your orders. Don't let anyone set foot onto the grounds."

…_if I was your enemy, would you hesitate to use your wand now and kill me?_

_…because I believe in you._

* * *

"Protego!"

Waving her wand, Hermione managed to cast the spell just in time to shield her and Ron from a series of red light beams. Just as the beams dissolved into nothing, Hermione turned around and pushed slightly at Ron's arms, signalling that it was time to run again. She stayed behind Ron as they ran, casting protective spells behind them.

Once in a while she would look at Ron, whose own wound had not stopped bleeding. His face was stained red with his own blood, yet she could tell how little colour there was left in his skin and that it was through sheer will that he could carry Neville and keep on running at the same time. Feeling her eyes becoming teary, she stopped for a moment and focused everything on casting a Petrificus Totalus. Her spell struck a Death Eater who was catching up with them and as she turned around and ran again she could hear him fall to the ground.

"We're almost there," Hermione reassured as she caught up with Ron.

"I remember you saying the same thing that time when we had to fly to Glasgow," Ron managed to say in between breathing. "Turned out we had another 6 hours to fly."

Ron's lips formed the smallest smile and Hermione did not whether to laugh or cry at the fact that he was trying to reassure her by smiling at the whole situation.

Looking forward, Hermione could see that Parvati and Luna ahead of them. The latter two had managed to run faster due to the fact that Ron was carrying Neville and Hermione was staying with them.

"They're coming at us from south and east as well," Parvati informed as Hermione and Ron caught up with them. "They're catching up with us!"

"We'll just have to run a little faster then!" Hermione panted, feeling her legs grow weaker.

But suddenly Parvati stopped running so abruptly that she disappeared out of everyone's sight. It was only after several more meters that Hermione, Ron and Luna stopped as well and turned around to look at Parvati. She was standing completely still, wand drawn and had the face of someone who had made a decision.

"What are you doing, we have to go!" Hermione shouted.

"You guys go on ahead," Parvati answered. "I'll hold them back for a while!"

"You're going to get killed!" Hermione shrieked, taking a step towards Parvati.

"I'll be fine, just go!" Parvati shouted back, then turned around and started to run in the opposite direction.

Hermione took a few steps to follow her but then Luna stepped in front of her and blocked her path.

"She'll be okay," Luna said sincerely.

"But…" Hermione started, looking at Parvati who was disappearing further into the woods. Just a few seconds later she was completely out of sight.

"She's done more dangerous things more, we'll have to trust her," Ron agreed. "We have to get out of here, Neville's not going to hold out much longer."

Hermione turned around and looked at Neville who was lying limp in Ron's arms. For a while she saw the same mild mannered and shy boy she had met in her first year of Hogwarts and felt her eyes becoming watery again at the thought of the harsh reality they all lived in now. She did not say anything, instead she quietly began to walk and eventually run towards west.

She heard Ron and Luna's footsteps behind her and knew that they were a couple of meters behind her, yet she did not slow down to wait for them. She didn't want them to see the look on her face, how close she was to crying. It wasn't fair, none of this was fair. They weren't supposed to live a life like this, constantly having to run to stay alive. She poured in all her anger and frustration into running, knowing that it was the only thing that she could do.

They ran and ran and several times they lost count of how far or for how long they had ran. No one bothered to speak and the silence of the wood was only disturbed by their heavy footsteps and breathing.

Then suddenly, as Hermione took the final step between two trees, she had left the darkness of the forest and felt her cheeks become warm upon feeling the light of the rising sun. Her legs did not stop running until there was more distance between her and the forest but once she stopped, she just stood there and took in the beauty of it all.

The sun was directly above her, brightening the sky and spreading so much light that Hermione had to squint her eyes a little after being in the dark for so long. Right before her were emerald green plains and the old quidditch pitch where the grass swayed slightly in the wind. She could see the lake from where she was standing and how the crystal clear water glittered and reflected the light of the sun. And above it all, high up on the hill, was the grand Hogwarts.

Her breathing started to slow down and all the anger and frustration she had felt before faded away at the sight of the castle. After all the years that had passed, all that had happened, all she, Ron, Neville and Parvati had gone through… Hogwarts still looked the same.

The serenity she felt upon seeing Hogwarts disappeared suddenly as she heard the sound of something heavy dropping to the ground. Turning around, she saw that Ron had dropped Neville and before anyone could say anything he fell to the ground himself.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing over to Ron's side while Luna went to Neville.

Falling to her knees on the soft grass, Hermione carefully lifted up Ron's head. His wound was not bleeding as much but he had gone too far, done too much than his body allowed him and now he was paying for it.

"Ron… come on…" Hermione whispered, her voice shaky. "Don't do this to me… please, get up…"

"…don't you think I… want to?" Ron managed to utter, his body feeling so unusually weak in Hermione's arms.

"We're almost there, I promise," Hermione assured, completely unaware of the fact that tears were running down her cheeks. "We just have to get past here and then…"

"…isn't that what you said before?" Ron chuckled lightly.

Not being able to smile back at him, Hermione pulled him up closer and held him tighter.

Then, out of the forest, something big and dark came flying. It flew past Hermione and Ron and continued to roll a few meters away. Only when it had stopped rolling did Hermione see that it was not an object, it was Parvati. She watched how Parvati struggled just to get up, but in the end she was too weak to even do that. All she could do was to meet Hermione's eyes and whisper:

"…run..."

Turning her head, Hermione looked towards the forest to see figures in dark robes emerging from the shadow of the trees. At first there were five, then ten, then twenty and when they had all stepped out of the forest they were at least twice as many as that. They all wore masks, yet she could see their hard, cold eyes as they all raised their wands and pointed it towards her and the others.

There was no way to outrun them now, no way to defend themselves. All chances of escaping were gone.

Shaking and feeling almost paralyzed, all Hermione could do was to stay with Ron and hold onto him.

One of the Death Eaters stepped forth, still keeping his wand pointed at them but pulling up his mask at the same time. Hermione instantly recognized his face once the mask was off.

Blaise Zabini.

"Well, well… we Slytherins always knew you and the weasel were meant to be," he mocked, smirking. "A true match really, you being a mudblood and he a blood traitor."

"Go to hell," Hermione snapped angrily, staring right into his eyes.

"I'm afraid you'll get there first," Blaise retorted. "But first I have someone else to deal with."

He pointed his wand at Luna, who looked at him without a hint of fear. In fact, she was even looking at him with disinterest.

"You there will have to return with us," he said. "I have orders from Lady Lestrange to bring you back alive."

After taking one last look at Neville, Luna got up and started to walk. At first Hermione nearly dropped her jaw at this action, but only moments later Luna placed herself right in between Hermione and Blaise and showed no intention of going any further. Blaise looked uncertain and waved at her with his wand.

"What are you standing there for?" he snapped.

"Perhaps I should ask you that," Luna replied calmly. "Did you bring all those people behind you because they are your friends or because you didn't think you could catch me on your own?"

In midst of crying silently and the absurdity of it all, Hermione felt like laughing when she saw Blaise's face redden.

"You'll share your friends' fate for that," Blaise hissed. "Lady Lestrange will not blame me if you happen to die in the crossfire."

Blaise backed a few steps and raised his wand.

Hermione heard her own heart beat loudly and her entire body froze with dread.

Luna still did not move.

"Avada-"

A flash of light.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly automatically but managed to open them just in time to see Blaise stumble backwards and the wand flying out of it hands. But that was not the only thing she saw. Standing in front of Luna, shielding her, was a young man pointing his wand towards Blaise and the other Death Eaters. His hair and cloak, both dark, blew in the wind. Hermione had never seen the young man before, but somehow she instantly knew who he was.

_Harry Potter._

* * *

The Death Eaters whispered among themselves.

It was truly him. The heir to the dark lord, his so called prince, choosing to show himself for the first time after months of isolation. Even those who had never met him before recognized him from pictures published in the newspaper and almost felt awed to stand in his mere presence.

But Harry Potter had cast a spell against the leader of their group and stood with his wand pointing at them while shielding a Resistance rat. What was going on?

"Potter…" Blaise whispered, as if he was not sure of what he was seeing.

Harry did not move an inch, standing there like a statue.

"Lady Lestrange has tried to contact you, why have you not…" Blaise began.

"Leave."

Blaise stared blankly at Harry, doubting his senses once again.

"What?"

"Leave," Harry repeated sternly. "I will show no mercy to those who enter these grounds without my permission."

Looking almost panicked, Blaise turned around and looked at the other Death Eaters for some sort of assurance that he had heard things wrong or just deeply misunderstood them. But when they seemed just as confused as he was, Blaise turned to Harry again.

"I don't understand," he admitted. "We were pursuing them, they are the Resistance, she is the traitor who…"

"I know who she is," Harry cut off. "And I ask you again, leave or this will go beyond a civilized conversation."

Blaise opened his mouth to say something but no actual words came out. His face clearly spelled out disbelief in the entire situation.

"This order came from Lady Lestrange," he tried. "She ordered us to capture the girl and kill the others. Her word as our supreme leader…"

"Then my word as the heir of the dark lord does not count?" Harry retorted. "This is my last warning, Zabini. Leave or suffer the consequences."

Even the sound of the wind seemed to disappear as tense silence lay over the field. Everyone watched with held breaths, fear and even anticipation. Blaise and Harry continued to stare at each other, Blaise with an unsure expression and Harry with a relentless one. Half an eternity seemed to pass in silence without either of them moving or saying anything.

Blaise slowly raised his right hand.

And waved backwards.

With such a simple gesture, the Death Eaters started to pull back. They pulled back further and further, until they reached the forest where they waited for their leader, who still had not moved.

"Lady Lestrange will hear about this," Blaise threatened coldly.

To that Harry did not answer and Blaise turned around and retreated into the forest with the others. Harry remained standing for a long time and watched them disappear into the forest. Once they were completely out of sight and Harry allowed himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath.

What the consequences of this would be, he did not know.

He slowly turned around and faced Luna.


	2. Astray

**Verso  
Chapter 2: Astray**

* * *

"Ouch! Could you at least try to hurt me any less?"

"I would if you would sit still," Hermione scolded, dabbing the wound on Ron's head lightly with a damp cloth. "It wouldn't hurt as much if you could just take the healing potion."

Ron glared suspiciously at the small bottle standing on the bedside table. The crystal clear liquid looked no different from the healing potions he had taken in the past. But considering where the potion came from, Ron felt that he would rather die than take it. They had managed to cheat death once already, he wasn't about to try his luck again so soon.

"Who knows if that's really a healing potion?" he questioned. "I bet he's sitting up there in his tower and just waiting for us to take the bait so that he doesn't have to do the dirty work with his own hands!"

Hermione sighed. She put aside the bloodied cloth and reached for a clean compress.

"If he wanted to kill us then he would have let Zabini do it. Do you really think that he'd let us walk into Hogwarts, treat our wounds and then kill us?"

She looked over her shoulder and at the two beds closest to her. Neville and Parvati lay asleep in each bed. Parvati's injuries were not that serious and aside from a few scratches and burns she would be up on her feet in a few hours. Neville was a different matter, he would have to stay in bed for at least a few more days before he could even think about walking. It was what worried Hermione most.

A painting of an old hospital ward hung above Neville's and Parvati's beds. A grey haired nurse walked forwards, glancing at them and then walked away as if she concluded that they were alright for now. Looking around, Hermione recognized many of the paintings hanging on the wall and felt what was almost relief. It seemed like despite the rumoured changes Harry Potter had done to Hogwarts the hospital wing remained the same. It was something that Hermione wanted to take comfort in, that after all this time they were finally back at Hogwarts.

But she knew it was not the same. The castle was no longer the school she had known and loved. There were no students in the hallway, no teachers lecturing on the importance of proper magical conduct and no Dumbledore or anything else that defined Hogwarts. It was the home of the heir of the dark lord and she, as well as the others, were only alive because he had decided to spare them. Why he had done that no one knew but Hermione suspected that matters were less than simple. While she and the others had been shown the way to the hospital wing, Harry Potter had taken Luna with him and gone off somewhere else.

"Do you think we should go out and find her or something?" Ron suddenly asked, as if knowing what Hermione was thinking about. "She could be in danger."

Hermione shook her head.

"I don't think we need to worry about Luna," she answered and brushed strands of red hair away from Ron's face so that she could apply the compress.

Whatever relationship or feelings that existed between Harry Potter and Luna, Hermione was pretty sure it was the reason why they were all still alive.

* * *

Things could not have felt tenser. It was as if the entire room was no more than a painting, with him looking out the window and her staring at his back, waiting for him to turn to her. They had stood like this one minute after the other, not moving at all and if not for the flames moving and fluttering in the fireplace one might have thought that they were frozen in time.

Harry shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to look out the window anymore and yet not wanting to look at anything else either. He heard the crackling for the fire on the other side of the room but not a sound from Luna. Had he not told her to come into his study and seen her before turning away, he would have not known that she was there.

Opening his eyes, he finally felt ready to face her. Face all of this.

Or perhaps only just as ready as he could be.

"How... are you?"

He bit his bottom lip just after the words came out of his month. What kind of question was that to ask after all that had happened?

But Luna did not mind.

"I'm good," she answered casually. "And you?"

It was the kind of question that one automatically answered "I'm fine" to. Harry almost did until he stopped himself and remembered that saying that he was fine would be completely wrong.

"No, I'm not," he muttered instead and turned around to look at her.

She didn't look that much different from when he had seen her last. Those short minutes in the hospital wing, where he had found himself after... that night. It had been several months since then. Luna looked a little thinner and her hair was a little longer. But her eyes were the same, the same silvery and calm eyes he had stared into in the past. Perhaps it was the light from the fire, but she seemed to glow from where she stood. Or was it simply because he hadn't seen her in so long?

"That day in the hospital wing... you just left," Harry started. "These past few months I had no idea where you were, if you were alive... I had people searching for you everywhere!"

"...I know," Luna said softly. "I know."

She gave no further explanation to that, yet Harry didn't know what he would want in an explanation. He understood why she had to hide and why she had to stay away, she was in the Resistance and he...

Harry closed his eyes for a moment.

He wasn't sure who he was anymore. What he was.

"What have you come now?" he questioned in a more harsh tone. "Why did the Death Eaters chase you here?"

His change of tone did not seem to have an effect on her. He kept his eyes on her, watching her for any kind of reaction but she looked neither particularly sad nor happy. Luna was dreamy and could be seemingly detached from everything that was going on. But he knew that it was not true, he knew that she was awake and aware. So why did she not smile upon seeing him? Feel relief, happiness or just anything at all? Why did she stand there like statue without any emotions?

There was a stab of pain in his heart upon him thinking that all he felt so much upon seeing her and she did not look like she felt anything.

"I was captured," Luna told calmly. "They kept me somewhere around the other side of the Forbidden Forest. The others came to rescue me but our portkey was destroyed and they had us surrounded on all sides."

"Except towards Hogwarts," Harry finished for her.

Luna nodded. For the first time Harry noticed the smudges of dirt on her face and how unclean her clothes were. The escape had not been easy, judging by the state of the Resistance members who were resting in the hospital wing. He guessed that he should have offered her to sit or something but to do that would be to forgive her.

"So that's why you came?" Harry asked and crossed his arms. "Because you and your friends were in trouble?"

Luna gave him a strange look, as if not understanding what he was trying to say.

Harry lowered his gaze.

All of this, everything these past few months... it was too much.

"You just left... so suddenly," he spoke. His mouth felt dry and he struggled to find the right words to express himself. "I don't know what happened to me... what happened to Voldemort. All I knew was that you were gone and that... I... I didn't... know what to do with myself when you were gone."

There was silence again, just as before. Harry dug his fingernails into the palm of his hands as he felt tears forming against his will. How could she just stand there? How could she just stand there when he was like this? How could she stand there and watch him? Why did he feel all these things because she was there?

He heard her take a few steps, not knowing into which direction until he saw her muddy, brown shoes on the carpet right in front of him. The next moment he felt her hands on his cheeks, cupping his face gently. Though she had been held captive, escaped and been and on the run, her hands were surprisingly warm against his skin. He wasn't sure if it was that her hands were warm or if he was the one who was cold.

Slowly, her hands lifted his head up until he found himself looking right at her, just inches between their faces.

And there it was.

Beyond her quiet manner, behind her calm gaze... there was a girl who was tired, sad, happy, relieved.

"I'm sorry..." Luna whispered, her voice trembling a little. "I'm so... so sorry I had to leave you..."

She closed her eyes and leaned closer, until her forehead was resting against his. The moment they touched seemed to release everything she had been holding back, all the tiredness she had withheld finally took over. Her weary body fell against his and Harry caught her quickly by putting his arms around her. He held her tightly, knowing that without him she would not be able to stand.

Not another word was said between them, but it was only in that silence, in their silence, that they both allowed themselves to be free.

He was not the heir of the Dark Lord.

She was not a symbol of the Resistance.

Everything they had gone through the past few months did not matter. In that room, in that silence, they would simply be Harry and Luna.

He could have stayed that way forever, holding her in his arms and just letting the outside world disappear. But reality was always there and always needed to be tended to.

There was a knock on the door.

"Sir?"

The moment disappeared and their time of being just Harry and Luna had gone just as quickly as it had come before. They automatically pulled away from each other although it was done reluctantly.

"Yes?" Harry responded to the voice outside the door.

The door opened and revealed Bosworth standing in the doorway.

"Please excuse me for interrupting, sir," Bosworth apologized. "But a situation has come up that I think needs to be dealt with."

Bosworth glanced nervously at Luna as if not sure if he should say anything in her presence.

"Don't worry about her, just tell me what's going on," Harry ordered.

The old butler turned his eyes back to Harry.

"It's is Lady Lestrange, sir. She and a small company, including Mr Zabini, have arrived at the gates."

* * *

"This must be a mistake."

Stepping forwards, Bellatrix looked at the gate before her. After hesitating a moment, she reached out and touched it. It was made of metal and not a particularly strong one at that. There was really nothing special about the gate. There were no ornaments on the gate and on first glance one would wonder why Bellatrix just didn't cast a hex to get through.

But then again it was not a physical barrier preventing her from entering Hogwarts grounds.

"I assure you, ma'am, it's not."

Blaise Zabini, a young man who owed his position more to his mother's gold than his own ability in Bellatrix's mind, joined her side by the gate. Bellatrix saw him in the corner of her eye and did not bother to turn to him as she spoke.

"Are you saying that Harry, the heir of the Dark Lord, harbours Resistance rats?" Bellatrix asked serenely. "Here, at Hogwarts?"

Blaise did not answer and Bellatrix could practically feel how he was squirming and struggling to find the correct answers to her question. She smiled to herself, finding a great deal of satisfaction in making the young man uncomfortable in her presence.

"Ma'am," Blaise began after a while. "My team pursued them through the Forbidden Forrest... we almost had them until they came here and Potter..."

Bellatrix turned to look at Blaise, an intense almost feral look in her eyes.

"You will stop speaking this instant or I shall personally make it happen," she hissed, the serene tone she had used before gone. "Do not think that you can escape retribution by shifting the blame onto _my son._ I have not forgotten that you were in charge of keeping that Lovegood girl hidden and in captivity. The fact that you let her escape and then failed to capture her again does not sit very well with me at the moment. Do you understand what I am saying Mr Zabini?"

Having become a few shades paler in the face, Blaise swallowed and just nodded.

Upon seeing that, the smile returned to Bellatrix's face.

"Good boy. I believe my son will be here to receive us shortly."

There was nothing in the tone of her voice, in her expression that revealed her true thoughts. That she had stood before the gate once before, alone and calling for Harry to open, demanding to speak to him. She had waited there for two hours before giving up. There had been no sign of Harry, just as there was no sign of the Dark Lord these days.

To everyone else Harry Potter was abroad, under the tutelage of Rodolphus. The Dark Lord had rarely made public appearances the last few years and there was no need to explain his absence. The well kept truth was limited only to Bellatrix, Lucius and a selected few who could be trusted. The truth was that the last time the Dark Lord had been seen was months ago when he had gone to Hogwarts and the last person to have seen him was Harry.

Bellatrix did not know what happened then and she certainly had no idea what to believe. She and Lucius had spent hours speculating, sending people everywhere to see if there was anyone who knew the truth. But in the end it was always the same conclusion, only Harry could provide them with answer. He clearly refused to, seeing as he had not left Hogwarts for months and refused to answer any owls. Powerful wards were put up all around the grounds, making it impossible for anyone to get in or get out without his permission. It was like he wanted to have nothing to do with the rest of the world.

And then this had happened. Blaise rushing into her office, claiming that Harry Potter had turned against them all and sided with the Resistance.

Bellatrix knew that there was something wrong from the moment she heard it. Whatever had happened, whatever had happened to Harry and the Dark Lord, it was impossible that Harry had turned against them. If there really were members of the Resistance at Hogwarts, they were only there as prisoners. Merlin knew that Harry was much more capable than Blaise, perhaps he had managed to catch them when Blaise had not.

The others behind her shifted, exchanged nervous glances with each other. They had all heard Blaise's story and Bellatrix could feel how anxious and confused they were even though she wasn't looking. She did nothing to assure them and let them have their doubts. She believed and that was all that mattered.

He was her son. No matter what happened, that would never change.

* * *

Harry took his time before going. Though Luna had left the room, wanting to see how her friends were, Harry did not move an inch for a long time. When he was alone, when everything was quiet and still, he looked down to see that his hand was shaking.

Biting his lip, he took a deep breath and left the room.

He rushed through the corridors in a quick pace, not stopping for a moment. Stopping meant hesitation and he had had months of that already.

Soon his footsteps were against grass and not stone. It did not take long before the gate was within sight and shortly after that he also saw the group of people standing on the other side. All of them caped and hooded save for the one who stood closest to the gate.

_Mother._

The sight of her almost made him stop. She stood merely inches from the gate, tall and proud as she always was and dressed in dark green like the Slytherin she was. Harry nearly felt like a little boy again upon seeing her, remembering the strong admiration for his mother he had always felt. But along with admiration he had felt fear when he was little, fear of being a disappointment to her.

That same fear returned to him now as he saw her and the look on her face. There was no anger, no hate. There was only a look of relief upon seeing him. But it was what made the feeling in his stomach even worse, having her look at him like that and knowing what he had done, what had happened.

Harry's steps slowed down but he did not stop until he was at the gate. He raised his gaze and looked into his mother's eyes.

"Harry..." Bellatrix began, her voice soft with motherly affection. "You look thin."

Not knowing what to answer to that, Harry said nothing. Bellatrix just smiled at him. She reached out her hand a little, as if wanting to reach in between the bars of the gates and touch him. But something invisible stopped her and she drew her hand back.

"What is that scar on your forehead?" she asked suddenly.

Harry turned his head away from her, brushing his hair over the scar to hide it. Bellatrix took note of his action and said no more about it.

"Harry, I'm not here to question you about things or... whatever it is that has happened. But there is a matter of Resistance members that needs to be dealt with. Mr Zabini here..." Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "...claims that they have escaped into Hogwarts grounds."

She paused there and looked at Harry for some sort of reaction.

"Yes... that's true," he confirmed after some time.

"Do you know where they are?" Bellatrix asked.

Harry thought about Luna, probably in the hospital wing with her friends. Three of them with injuries that needed to be tended to. Two who had been conscious and eyed him with suspicion even though he had offered them help.

"You can say that," he answered vaguely.

Bellatrix smiled at him, obviously pleased.

"Good. Take down the wards for a while, we'll go and get them and then be on our way."

Harry did not move.

He thought about Luna, how tired, worn and fatigued she was. The scrapes on her arms, the injuries her friends had sustained while trying to escape. How they were all in the hospital wing right now, uneasy, in his care and not knowing what he would do with them.

Would he help them or turn them in?

"Harry?"

His mother on the other side of the gate, asking to be let in. She was staring at him with the undying belief that he, her son, could do nothing wrong despite how he had ignored her owls for so long.

Would he let her in?

"Harry, what is it?"

The time for hesitation and hiding was over. Things had gone too far for him to return to the castle and sit there pretending to he could escape from all these things. What happened had been set in motions ever since Harry made the decision to save Luna and the others. As a result of that decision, there was no way that he could help Luna and obey his mother at the same time.

No more hesitating.

No more hiding.

He had to make a choice, right there.

"...no."

The word was uttered so silently that he questioned whether he had actually said it or not.

But the look on Bellatrix's face confirmed that he had. It was one of pure shock, like his word had made her entire world fall apart.

"No...?" she repeated weakly.

He had never heard her sound like that before. It was as something had struck her.

"What do you mean no...? Harry, talk to me... tell me..."

He did not say anything but his silence spelled it all out for her. There was a moment where everything was still, the other Death Eaters behind Bellatrix watched her in anticipation. Harry saw them looking at each other. Though they might not have heard his refusal they had heard Bellatrix's words. They were looking amongst each other trying to figure out what to do. But in the end they looked towards Bellatrix, waiting for her reaction and her order.

Bellatrix stood frozen at the gate. The shock was still apparent in her eyes and though her mouth was half open no words came out.

But then the shock and the silence immediately turned into anger and suddenly there was no trace of the affectionate mother he had seen upon arriving at the gate.

Bellatrix lunged forwards so suddenly that Harry instinctively stepped backwards. Her long fingers gripped the bars of the gate and shook it as if trying to physically bring it down so that she could get to him. The gate rattled in its hinges but remained in its place. Magical forces stronger than Bellatrix made sure of it.

"It is that Lovegood girl!" Bellatrix screamed. "She has you wrapped around her finger! Harry! You are the heir of the Dark Lord, how dare you betray him like this?!"

_The Dark Lord._

Memories of the night rushed to his head.

The stone dropping into his pocket. The struggle for it and running away from lord Voldemort. His lord, his father. The one who swore he would never harm Harry yet minutes later was prepared to kill him. He would have succeeded if not by some twist of fate he had disappeared and Harry survived with only a scar as a reminder of that night. He had lived with this ever since, the memory of a father figure turning against him and deciding that he was no longer needed. The same man who had murdered his parents so many years ago.

On some nights, he could still hear the sound of a wand dropping to the floor and the scream would haunt him until the moment he woke up.

Bellatrix screamed of betrayal but Harry remembered what had really happened.

He had been betrayed first.

Not bothering to say goodbye, Harry just turned around and walked away. He could hear Bellatrix shouting at him from the other side of the gate and how various curses and hexes were cast. But the protective wards caught everything and they were unable to get through to him.

The screams and the shouts eventually faded as he walked further and further away from the gate. By the time he made it to the castle he could not hear them anymore and breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief did not last long.

Standing by the open castle gate was a girl his age with brown, untamed hair. Harry had heard Luna call her Hermione. She was standing right in the middle, with her arms crossed and facing Harry in a way that told him clearly that she wanted to talk to him and wasn't going to let him through until she had.

Harry sighed again, not out of relief this time. The confrontation with his mother had been more than enough.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"That wasn't exactly a pleasant exchange out there," Hermione commented. "I guess people aren't going to be that happy with you from now on."

"Guess not," Harry murmured, trying to walk past Hermione but she moved and blocked his way. "What?"

"We don't trust you," Hermione said.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"No really?" he retorted sarcastically.

"Really." Hermione looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "I have no idea why you chose to save us or what your intentions are. But whatever they are... you obviously aren't siding with them. We know you haven't been in France with Rodolphus Lestrange these past few months and that you have refused contact with everyone, including your... family. And Luna thinks that we can trust you."

As a contrast to everything he had felt that today, hearing Hermione say the last part that made Harry almost... happier.

"Did she say that?" he asked, as if wanting clarification.

Hermione scoffed.

"Yes. Now whether just Luna's opinion is enough for us to trust you is up for debate... but seeing as we don't have that many options right now I'm willing to give it a try."

The way Hermione had her arms crossed had Harry convinced that it would take a little more than running out of options than for her to just trust him. He had been around enough people with hidden motives to know that she was out for something more.

"And you want something in exchange for your trust?"

Hermione nodded.

"I want an owl to send a message. And once I've received the response from the one I send it to..."

"Then I'll have your trust?" Harry finished.

He didn't even know why he was listening to her. He couldn't care less about getting her to trust him, it was not like he was out to convince anyone whose side he was on. In fact, it was not like he was on any side at all right now. But he thought about Luna. If she had said that they could trust him he couldn't just go and wreck things by proving her wrong.

Besides, there was no harm in letting Hermione send a message. The Resistance was a fragile group, only banded together in the aftermath of Dumbledore's death and fighting with very little hope. It made very little difference to Harry whether he let her send the message or not. After the confrontation with Bellatrix, it didn't matter what he did anymore.

"Go ahead then," Harry said with a shrug. "Just ask Bosworth for an owl."

"Thank you."

The tone in Hermione's voice revealed that the words were more of an automatic, polite response than sincere gratitude.

"How did you know what was going out there anyway?" Harry asked, remembering what Hermione had said before. "You weren't out there as far as I could see."

The stern, serious expression that Hermione had had the entire time faded just a little. Instead there was almost a look of smugness and pride.

"We wouldn't be much of a resistance if we didn't have ways of listening in on conversations without being there, would we?"

The thought of that scared Harry a little and he wondered what other conversations she had listened into today. But he decided to ignore it and just let it go. This day had been exhausting and draining enough without becoming paranoid about private conversations no longer being private.

Harry walked past Hermione and she let him go. His only thoughts were about getting back to his private chamber. Enough had happened for the day, he was ready to lie down and fall asleep instantly. Hopefully sleep would come before he would have a chance to think about anything or anyone...

"Hey!"

Harry nearly groaned in frustration upon hearing Hermione's voice again.

"What?" he snapped, turning around to face her again.

Couldn't she just leave him alone now?

"You really do care about Luna, do you?" Hermione asked.

The question hit him like a bucket of ice cold water and all the frustration was gone at once. Harry stared at her, taken off guard by the question. All he could do in response to it was nod dumbly.

But that dumb nod was all that was needed. Hermione deemed his answer adequate and seemed to let her guard down as well by revealing just the hint of a smile. When the two of them parted ways, Harry had a feeling that Hermione wasn't that clueless at all about why he had chosen to save them

* * *

_Author's notes: Apologies for taking over a year to update. Truth is that writing has taken a backseat the past year because of the evil institution that is university. That and plain laziness. I hope some of you are still around to read this, I really appreciate all the feedback to the first chapter. Verso is prooving to be a much more difficult story to write than Redivivus. One of the differences is length, I think I'm planning on making Verso around 20 chapters. But despite how long it takes for me to update, I've never lost interest in writing it. Thanks to everyone who's read this chapter!_


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